Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Ainsworth, Iowa 52201
Wednesday, July 1, 2009 12:46 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane experienced a loss of engine power while maneuvering at a low altitude during an aerial application flight. The pilot was unable to regain engine power after he turned the boost pump on and moved the throttle control to the full forward position. He then performed a forced landing on terraced terrain. A postaccident engine examination revealed evidence of continued rotation when the airplane impacted the ground. Examination of the fuel control unit (FCU) revealed that the bellows spring was fractured and the overspeed governor ball head bearing retainer was fragmented. Pieces of the fragmented retainer were found within the flow divider and fuel manifold. An unidentified contaminant was observed on the bearing race shoulder which misaligned the ball head bearing. The FCU was reportedly overhauled in 2003, but there were no component or aircraft records indicating the FCU's maintenance and installation since its manufacture. A search of the Federal Aviation Administration's service difficulty database did not specifically cite failures of the ball head bearing retainer, and the failures that were listed did not indicate the nature of those failures. The FCU manufacturer reported having no record of failures of the ball head bearing retainer; however, the repair facility that overhauled the FCU reported they had seen failures of the ball head bearing retainer.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A component failure of the fuel control unit, which resulted in a loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/1/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1246 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Ainsworth |
| Event State | IOWA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 52201 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1248 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 45 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AWG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 754 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 4000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2400 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 310 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.86 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28669 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-ACE-ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 21 2011 7:29PM |
| User who most recently changed record | bowl |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N60015 |
| NTSB Number | CEN09LA403 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | AYRES |
| Aircraft Model | S2R-G6 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | G6-110 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 6000 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 9 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 8868 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Air Advantage Inc |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Mount Pleasant |
| Aircraft Owner State | IA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 52641 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Air Advantage Inc |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Mount Pleasant |
| Operator State | IA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 52641 |
| Operator Code | PMJG |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Agriculture |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Aerial Application |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | AWG |
| Departure City | Washington |
| Departure State | IA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1200 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Ainsworth |
| Destination State | IA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 12 2011 9:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | scoa |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |